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06/10/2025

THIS DAY IN MUSIC HISTORY, OCTOBER 6TH

2016 Prince's Paisley Park compound opens to the public.

2020 Johnny Nash, whose "I Can See Clearly Now" was the first reggae song to hit #1 in America, dies at 80.

2020 Van Halen leader Eddie Van Halen, widely hailed as one of the greatest guitarists who ever lived, dies of throat cancer at 65.

2002 Mick Jagger of The Rolling Stones donates 100,000 pounds to the school he once attended in Dartford, England, for musical instruments and a band director. The resultant musical center is named after the singer.

2000 The TV series CSI: Crime Scene Investigation debuts on CBS with "Who Are You?" by The Who as the theme song. Three more series in the franchise appear, all with theme songs by The Who: CSI: Miami ("Won't Get Fooled Again"), CSI: NY ("Baba O'Riley") and CSI: Cyber ("I Can See For Miles").

2000 Three investors in Steven Seagal's as-yet-unreleased album sue the actor, alleging that he has no intention of completing the project. Michael Vanderhoof, Michael Khaled, and Donald Danks claim they put a total of $600,000 into the recording of the album and the making of an accompanying documentary film.

1994 Glenn Frey has stomach surgery for diverticulitis, causing the Eagles to postpone dates on their their Hell Freezes Over tour, which resumes in January.

1991 Ray Charles is honored on the Fox TV special Ray Charles: 50 Years Of Music. Highlights of the show include Charles performing "Living For The City" with Stevie Wonder and "Busted" with Willie Nelson.

1991 Michael Jackson gives Elizabeth Taylor away to Larry Fortensky during her eighth wedding, held at Jackson's 2,700-acre Neverland estate near Los Angeles.

1985 Nelson Riddle - an arranger, composer, bandleader and orchestrator known for his work with Frank Sinatra, among many others - dies of cardiac and kidney failure related to cirrhosis of the liver in Los Angeles, California, at age 64.

1983 Barry Manilow plays a charity concert at London's Royal Albert Hall attended by Prince Charles and Princess Diana.

1980 The Bee Gees sue their former manager Robert Stigwood for $136 million, claiming unpaid royalties and fraud. The group alleges that contracts they signed with Stigwood in 1968 were predatory and unfair, and that they were too young to understand what they were signing. The suit is eventually settled out of court.

1979 Robert John's "Sad Eyes" hits #1.

1978 ABBA members Benny and Anni-Frid split after three years of marriage. The group's other male-female pair had been married in 1971.

1978 Rock 'n Roll singer Johnny O'Keefe dies of a (prescribed) drug-induced heart attack in Darlinghurst, Australia, at age 43. Known for hits like "Wild One," "She's My Baby" and his cover of "Shout!"

1974 While promoting their Nightbirds album, featuring the hit "Lady Marmalade," R&B trio Labelle becomes the first Black vocal group to perform at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York City.

1973 Cher's "Half-Breed" hits #1 for the first of two weeks.

1959 At 23 years old, Bobby Darin becomes the youngest ever headliner at the Sands Hotel in Las Vegas.

1958 Johnny Mathis releases his first of many holiday albums, Merry Christmas. The balladeer's smooth renderings of traditional Christmas tunes become a staple of the season for years to come.

1956 Elvis Presley releases "Love Me Tender," the title song to his first movie. It goes on to become his fifth #1 hit in America.

1954 David Hidalgo (guitarist/vocalist for Los Lobos) is born in Los Angeles, California.

1951 Kevin Cronin (lead vocalist for REO Speedwagon) is born in Evanston, Illinois.

1949 Thomas McClary (lead guitarist for the Commodores) is born Eustis, Florida.

1947 Gene Autry releases "Here Comes Santa Claus," a song he wrote after riding in a Christmas parade and hearing children scream out for Santa.

1946 Millie Small is born in Jamaica. After moving to England, she becomes part of the British Invasion and has a hit with "My Boy Lollipop."

1927 The first talking picture is released: The Jazz Singer, a musical starring Al Jolson. Irving Berlin's "Blue Skies" is one of the first songs heard by talkie audiences.

03/10/2025

THIS DAY IN MUSIC HISTORY, OCTOBER 3RD

2000 Benjamin Orr (bassist/singer for The Cars) dies of pancreatic cancer in Atlanta, Georgia, at age 53.

2016 Nickelodeon premieres the animated series Kuu Kuu Harajuku, produced by Gwen Stefani, about a group of girls who make music and fight evil. Stefani introduced her "Harajuku Girls," inspired by the neighborhood in Tokyo, on her solo debut, Love. Angel. Music. Baby. and has integrated her love of the culture in her clothing and perfume lines.

2014 Thirty-seven years after its release, Fleetwood Mac's Rumours album is certified Double Diamond by the RIAA for sales of over 20 million in the US. It is the ninth album to achieve the certification.

2006 "Listen to Your Heart," the power-ballad written by Per Gessle and Mats Persson, scoops a raft of prestigious honors at the 2006 BMI London Awards, presented at the Dorchester Hotel. Among other honors, the track receives the organization's highest accolade, the Robert S. Musel Award, for the most-performed song of the year.

2003 The film of the benefit concert The Concert For George, an all-star tribute to the recently deceased ex-Beatle George Harrison, opens in US theaters.

2001 Keith Urban goes home to Australia to accept a special Aria Award - roughly the equivalent to a Grammy in the US. Urban receives the Outstanding Achievement Award in recognition of sales and chart success in the US.

2000 45-year-old Mark David Chapman, the man who twenty years earlier fired five shots into John Lennon's back, faces the parole board. Parole for John Lennon's murderer is denied, with the board stating that letting him free would "deprecate the seriousness of the crime."

1999 Tom Jones charts a UK #1 album for the first time in 25 years when his set Reload hits the top spot. Joining the 59-year-old Jones on the album are Robbie Williams, Stereophonics, Ba*****ed Ladies and the Pretenders.

1995 The Youngbloods frontman Jesse Colin Young's house in Port Reyes, California burns to the ground in the Mount Vision wildfires. His song "Ridgetop" is about the house.

1988Lisa Marie Presley marries her first husband, musician Danny Keough (the union lasts five years).

1987 "Brenda Lee Day" is declared in her home town of Lithonia, Georgia. A new street is named Brenda Lee Lane in her honor.

1987 Smokey Robinson holds the #10 spot on the Hot 100 with "One Heartbeat," while a song about him, "When Smokey Sings" by ABC, is at #8.

1981 Two months after MTV's debut, Blue Öyster Cult's "Burnin' For You" reaches its peak of #40 in the US - their first Top 40 since "(Don't Fear) The Reaper" - thanks to a video shot in a Los Angeles culvert. Few American acts are making videos, so established rockers like BÖC and REO Speedwagon can get airtime. This changes a few years later when more photogenic artists make videos on a regular basis.

1981 Rod Stewart brings out special guest Tina Turner to join him on (what else) "Hot Legs" during his appearance on Saturday Night Live.

1980 Paul Simon's semi-autobiographical movie One-Trick Pony, in which he stars, is released in the US. It gets mixed reviews and does poorly at the box office, but does include a hit song: "Late in the Evening."

1980 Diamond Head, one of the leading bands of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal movement, issue their debut album, Lightning To The Nations. Mega-DH fans Metallica cover five of the album's seven songs over the years: "Am I Evil?", "Helpless," "The Prince," "It's Electric," and "Sucking My Love." Other NWOBHM bands like Iron Maiden, Def Leppard and Saxon eclipse Diamond Head in terms of popularity, but the Metallica covers speak to their influence and ensure their place in history.

1980 The Police's third album release, Zenyatta Mondatta, continues their theme of giving their records French-sounding titles. This time, the title has no clear translation, although it is suggested that it is a stylized combination of "zenith" and "monde" (Top of the World). It becomes their most successful album so far in America, reaching a peak of #5 and winning the band a pair of Grammy awards.

1980 Bruce Springsteen begins his tour for The River in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where he's joined by Bob Seger in a performance of "Thunder Road."

1978 At an Aerosmith show in Fort Wayne, Indiana, cops arrest fans for smoking ma*****na, prompting Steven Tyler to chastise them Jim Morrison-style from the stage. Tyler announces that the band will bail out anyone who is arrested that night, and the next day they do just that. Understandably, memories of the event are hazy, and the number arrested has been reported at anywhere from 28-58.

1977 The TV event Elvis In Concert, filmed just weeks before The King's death, is shown on CBS, with good friend Ann-Margret hosting. It shocks many with the depiction of a bloated and drug-addled Elvis Presley in his final days.

1973 The Who, forced to comply with union rules by recording a new track to "5:15" for their appearance on Top Of The Pops, take out their frustrations at the end of the performance. Pete Townshend smashes their gear and gives a producer the two-finger salute; Keith Moon throws wigs from the props department into the audience. The offensive bits are edited out when the show airs the following night.

1967 Woody Guthrie dies at age 55 after a long battle with Huntington's disease.

1966 The Zombies release "She's Not There" in the US.

1961 The Beach Boys record their first single, "Surfin'," at World Pacific studios in Los Angeles.

1957 ABC premieres The Pat Boone Chevy Showroom variety show, later featured in Michael Moore's documentary Roger and Me. The show features unobjectionable acts like The Four Lads, Ella Fitzgerald and Johnny Mathis; TV Guide says it's "about as exciting as a milkshake with two straws." It runs for three years and helps launch the career of Woody Allen, who is one of the writers.

1955 The Mickey Mouse Club, featuring their breakout star, 12-year-old Annette Funicello, debuts on ABC.

1954 Stephen "Stevie" Ray Vaughan is born in Dallas, Texas.

1952 The radio hit The Adventures Of Ozzie & Harriet, now featuring the couple's 12-year-old son Rick Nelson, debuts on CBS, where it runs for another 14 years.

1950 Saxophonist Ronnie Laws (of Earth, Wind & Fire) is born in Houston, Texas.

1949 Lindsey Buckingham of Fleetwood Mac is born in Palo Alto, California.

1945 Antonio Martinez (guitarist for Los Bravos) is born in Madrid, Spain.

1941 Chubby Checker is born Ernest Evans in Spring Gulley, South Carolina; he is raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

1940 Pop rocker Alan O'Day is born in Hollywood, California.

1938 Rockabilly singer Eddie Cochran is born in Albert Lea, Minnesota.

1901 The first record company, The Victor Talking Machine Company, is incorporated, later merging with the Radio Corporation of America to become RCA-Victor.

02/10/2025

THIS DAY IN MUSIC HISTORY, OCTOBER 2ND

2017 Tom Petty, 66, goes into cardiac arrest at his Malibu home. He is taken to UCLA medical center, but cannot be revived. Later that night, after his friends and family gather, he is taken off life support.

2014 Rita Coolidge's sister Priscilla Coolidge is found dead in her Thousand Oaks, California, home. She is the victim of a murder-suicide perpetrated by her husband, Michael Seibert. Priscilla, who was once married to Booker T. of Booker T. & the MG's, performed with her daughter - Laura Satterfield - and Rita in the Native American music trio Walela.

2004 55-year-old Billy Joel marries Katie Lee, his third wife. She becomes a writer and TV personality while married to Joel, a union that lasts five years.

2002 Return of the King: 25 years after his death, Elvis Presley has a #1 album in 17 countries - including the United States - when Elv1s 30 No. 1 Hits makes its debut.

2000 Paul Anka files to divorce his wife of 37 years: former fashion model Anne de Zogheb.

1999 David Bowie offers a virtual guided tour of the controversial art show "Sensation: Young British Artists From The Saatchi Collection" at davidbowie.com. The show includes Damien Hirst's shark suspended in formaldehyde (titled "The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living") and Tracey Emin's tent (titled "Everyone I Have Ever Slept With 1963–1995").

1999 Rob Thomas of Matchbox Twenty marries Puerto Rican American model Marisol Maldonado on a ranch in California. The wedding is broadcast on ABC's Celebrity Weddings In Style.

1998 Singing cowboy Gene Autry dies of lymphoma at 91.More

1998 Paul McCartney does an anonymous Q&A on the official site of his ambient duo The Fireman to promote their new album, Rushes.

1994 Following their Bridge School benefit performance in Mountain View, California, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers part ways with their original drummer, Stan Lynch. "Stan had lost all allegiance to us and was auditioning with other bands," Petty explains. "I had the feeling he was only staying around for the money." He is replaced by Average White Band drummer Steve Ferrone.

1992 Madonna's racy "Erotica" video, featuring footage from the making of her S*x book, debuts on MTV. The clip, which features the sultry singer guiding viewers through increasingly sexual scenarios, airs just three times before being banned.

1989 After years of poorly received output, Neil Young returns to form with Freedom, his 17th studio album. Having ditched Geffen Records after years of problems, Young records Freedom with his original label, Reprise. The album features three songs ("Don't Cry," "Eldorado" and "On Broadway") first released on the EP Eldorado earlier in the year.

1986 The Everly Brothers are awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7000 Hollywood Blvd.

1985 Bruce Springsteen's Born in the USA tour ends with the last of four shows at Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles.

1983 ABBA's Agnetha Faltskog is involved in a car crash in Skane, Sweden, and suffers a concussion but soon recovers.

1982 "Jack And Diane," a little ditty about two American kids growin' up in the heartland, hits #1 in America. It's the first and only #1 on the tally for John Cougar, who later reverts to his real name, John Mellencamp.

1981 The Police's fourth album is the last in a sequence of four annual autumn releases. The title, Ghost in the Machine, is taken from a psychology book by Arthur Koestler and breaks their erstwhile tradition of giving their records French-sounding titles. It is a #2 hit in the US, led by the hit single "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic."

1978 Gene Simmons' self-titled solo album is certified Platinum.

1977 After a plot is uncovered to steal it, Elvis Presley's body is moved from its Memphis mausoleum to its final resting place in the Meditation Garden at Graceland.

1976 Joe Cocker is the musical guest on Saturday Night Live, where he performs "Feelin' Alright" with his nemesis impersonator, John Belushi.

1971 Pop singer Tiffany is born Tiffany Darwish in Norwalk, California. She has two #1 hits: "I Think We're Alone Now" and "Could've Been."

1971 Soul Train makes its debut, with guests Gladys Knight & the Pips, Eddie Kendricks, and Honey Cone. It stays on the air an astonishing 35 years.

1971 Rod Stewart, still a member of the group Faces, goes to #1 in America with his mandolin-powered solo smash "Maggie May," inspired by the woman who took his virginity.

1971 Rod Stewart's LP Every Picture Tells A Story hits #1.

1970 Pink Floyd release their fourth album, Atom Heart Mother, in the UK. It becomes their first #1 album in that territory.

1969 Bobby Darin appears for the first time on TV as "Bob" Darin when he performs on Tom Jones' TV show.

1968 Motown sues their most prolific songwriting team, Holland-Dozier-Holland, for their refusal to write more songs until their royalty rate is increased. The trio are eventually released from the label and go on to start their own Invictus and Hot Wax labels.

1967 The entire Grateful Dead are arrested for ma*****na possession in San Francisco.

1967 Bluegrass singer-songwriter Gillian Welch is born in New York City. She grows up in Los Angeles, where her adoptive parents, Ken and Mitzie Welch, write music for The Carol Burnett Show.

1965 "Hang On Sloopy" by The McCoys hits #1 in America. The song was originally released the previous year as "My Girl Sloopy" by the R&B group The Vibrations. That version went to #26.

1961 The Crystals release "There's No Other Like My Baby."

1961 Ben Casey (with would-be singer Vince Everett) premieres on ABC-TV (running 5 seasons).

1960 Pop singer/songwriter Robbie Nevil is born in Los Angeles, California. Known for the 1986 hit "C'est La Vie."

1959 The Twilight Zone premieres on CBS-TV. The original orchestral opening used throughout Season One was composed by Bernard Herrmann, and was later replaced by the now-iconic theme from French composer Marius Constant.

1956 Soul singer Freddie Jackson is born in Harlem, New York. Known for the 1985 hit "Rock Me Tonight (For Old Times Sake)," among others.

1955 Philip Oakey (frontman for The Human League) is born in Oadby, Leicestershire, England.

1954 Elvis Presley makes his one and only appearance at the Grand Ole Opry, where he sings "Blue Moon Of Kentucky." It doesn't go over well with the crowd, which does not approve of his take on traditional country music. The Opry's talent director, Jim Denny, reportedly tells Presley he should go back to driving a truck. Elvis swears never to return.

1951 Sting is born Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner in Wallsend, Northumberland, England. He earns his nickname when a fellow musician says he looks like a bee in his yellow-and-black striped sweater. He is working as a schoolteacher when his band The Police hit the big time

1950 Rocker Mike Rutherford (of Genesis) is born in Portsmouth, Hampshire, England.

1945 Don McLean is born in New Rochelle, New York.

1945 Elvis Presley, just 10 years old, makes his first public appearance when he takes part in a talent contest at the Mississippi-Alabama Fair and Dairy Show singing "Old Shep." He comes in second.

1941 Ron Meagher (bass guitarist for The Beau Brummels) is born in Oakland, California.

1939 Lolly Vegas (guitarist/vocalist for Redbone) is born Candido Vasquez in Coalinga, California. One of the biggest acts of Native American heritage, Redbone has a huge hit in 1974 with "Come and Get Your Love."

1937 Benny Goodman records "Flying Home."

1933 David Somerville (original lead singer for The Diamonds) is born in Guelph, Ontario, Canada.

01/10/2025

Listen to WAKY and WIN tickets to CROCE PLAYS CROCE (Oct 15 at the BROWN THEATER)

01/10/2025

THIS DAY IN MUSIC HISTORY, OCTOBER 1ST

2018 Peggy Sue Gerron, subject of the Buddy Holly hit "Peggy Sue," dies at 78.

2011 After 28 years and two children together, Gene Simmons (62) and Shannon Tweed (54) finally get married. Their wedding song is "At Last," sung by their daughter Sophie.More

2011 Meat Loaf performs at the AFL Grand Final in Melbourne between Collingwood and Geelong. Suffering from a hemorrhaging vocal cord, he struggles through the 12-minute set and is blasted in the press. The singer responds by calling AFL organizers "the cheapest people I've ever seen in my life."More

2004 Bruce Palmer (bassist for Buffalo Springfield) dies of a heart attack in Belleville, Ontario, Canada, at age 58.

2002 Barry White's label reveals that the singer has been hospitalized with kidney failure. Unable to get a transplant, he dies nine months later.

1998 John Fogerty gets a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7000 Hollywood Blvd.
Muddy Banks of the Wishkah.

1995Farm Aid 8 takes place in Louisville, Kentucky, with Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp, Neil Young, Hootie & the Blowfish and The Dave Matthews Band raising over $1 million to support American farmers.

1994Wilson Pickett begins serving a one-year jail sentence for a 1992 incident where he hit a pedestrian with his car.

1992R&B vocalist Harry Ray (of The Moments, later known as Ray, Goodman & Brown) dies of a stroke in Bound Brook, New Jersey, at age 46. Known for hits like "Love on a Two-Way Street" (1970).

1991The world's most valuable golf glove - the original, crystal-studded one Michael Jackson wore - is stolen from the Motown Museum in Detroit. MC Hammer sets up a phone line and offers a $50,000 reward for the glove's return, but it's recovered by police two days later.

1983 The first ever David Bowie convention is held in London's Cunard Hotel. Speakers at the convention include Bowie's former dance teacher, Lindsay Kemp; Bowie's former manager, Ken Pitt; guitar player John Hutchinson; Bowie archivist, Kev Cann; and photographer Ray Stevenson.

1983 "Total Eclipse Of The Heart," written by Jim Steinman, hits #1 in the US, making Bonnie Tyler the first Welsh singer to top the chart.

1982 In Tokyo, Sony introduces the first digital compact-disc player, which sells for about $650.

1979 Marvel publishes the first Alice Cooper comic book. The story takes place in a sanitarium and is based on his stay in rehab.

1977 The Madison Square Garden Hall of Fame inducts its first musician: Elton John.

1977 #1 on the Hot 100 is "Star Wars Theme/Cantina Band" by Meco. It's a 15-minute song made up of Star Wars music set to a disco beat. There's even an R2-D2 bleeping solo.

1976 David Bowie retreats to West Germany in an attempt to clean up his co***ne addiction. While in Germany, Bowie works with Iggy Pop and Brian Eno. The song "Heroes" comes from this stay.

1975 Al Jackson Jr. (drummer for Booker T. & The MG's) is killed at age 39 when he finds intruders in his Memphis, Tennessee, home. His estranged wife, Barbara Jackson, is thought to be involved, being that she shot her husband in the chest just months earlier.

1971 John Lennon's album Imagine is certified Gold.

1971 Cat Stevens releases his fifth album, Teaser And The Firecat, with the hits "Peace Train" and "Morning Has Broken."

1970 Rolling Stone reports that Curtis Mayfield is leaving The Impressions, the group he formed with Jerry Butler in 1958. In his time with the group, Mayfield wrote and produced songs for The Impressions that defined the sound of Chicago soul in the '60s, including "It's All Right" and "Keep On Pushing."

1970 Jimi Hendrix is buried at Greenwood Cemetery in Seattle. His headstone reads: "Forever In Our Hearts, James 'Jimi' Hendrix 1942 - 1970."

1970 Janis Joplin makes her last recordings, singing "Mercedes Benz," which is included on her posthumous Pearl album a capella. She also records a goofy version of "Happy Trails" as a birthday present for John Lennon. Joplin dies three days later.

1969 The Beatles release Abbey Road in the US.

1967 Mick Jagger's apartment in London is burglarized, with girlfriend Marianne Faithfull's furs and jewelry being among the items listed as stolen.

1967 Traffic make their stage debut at London's Saville Theatre.

1966 Jimi Hendrix makes his UK stage debut when he jumps onstage to jam with Cream at London Polytechnic.

1965 At a concert at Carnegie Hall, Bob Dylan introduces his new band. Formerly Ronnie Hawkins' backup band, they were known as the Hawks, but soon became The Band.

1962 Johnny Carson's Tonight Show makes its debut. The theme song ("Johnny's Theme") is written by Paul Anka, but as part of the deal, Carson writes some lyrics for the song that are published, but never used, earning him half of the royalties from the song, which are substantial, as the song runs throughout Carson's 30-year tenure on the show.

1962 The Beach Boys release their first album, Surfin' Safari, which includes their debut single, "Surfin'." The album climbs to #32 in the US.

1964 The Beatles' first film, A Hard Day's Night, becomes the first movie to debut behind the "Iron Curtain" of Communist countries when it is shown in Prague.

1962 Barbra Streisand signs with Columbia Records.

1958 Little Anthony and the Imperials record a song written by Neil Sedaka and Howard Greenfield called "The Diary." Sedaka and his publisher are so disappointed with the recording that they have Sedaka try it himself, resulting in his first hit as an artist.

1947 Bing Crosby broadcasts the first ever pre-recorded radio show when he airs his Philco Radio Time show on the ABC network using a magnetophon, a N**i recording technology discovered and brought to America by US Army Corps Officer John Thomas "Jack" Mullin. The magnetophon leads to the evolution of multi-track recording technology, which revolutionizes the music industry. Crosby becomes an investor in the technology, which he uses so he doesn't have to always do his shows live.

1935 Julie Andrews is born Julia Elizabeth Wells in Walton-on-Thames, Surrey, England.More

30/09/2025

THIS DAY IN MUSIC HISTORY, SEPTEMBER 30TH

2021 Tony Bennett, 95, releases an album of standards with Lady Gaga called Love For Sale, making him (according to Guinness) the oldest person to release an album of new material.

2019 Green Day and the National Hockey League announce a partnership deal that includes the band playing halftime of the 2020 All-Star Game, and their song "Fire, Ready, Aim" as the opening theme to the Wednesday Night Hockey broadcasts.

2011 Marv Tarplin of The Miracles dies in Las Vegas, Nevada, at age 70.

2010 After 10 years, the first ever John Lennon museum closes. Located outside of Tokyo, it shuts down because Yoko Ono wants Lennon's spirit to remain in motion, saying, "If the Museum which houses his spirit never moved, it would be a grave, not a Museum."

2006 Farm Aid co-founders Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp and Neil Young are joined by Dave Matthews (The Dave Matthews Band), Steel Pulse, Gov't Mule, Jerry Lee Lewis, Steve Earle and Allison Moorer for the organization's 21st anniversary concert at the Tweeter Center in Camden, New Jersey.

2002 Pat Boone guests on the TV series Seventh Heaven.

1997 U2 cause controversy during its show in Tel Aviv, Israel, with frontman Bono appealing for the release from imprisonment of nuclear secrets traitor Mordechai Vanunu.

1997 Fleetwood Mac's reunion show at the Continental Airlines Arena in East Rutherford, New Jersey, grosses a house record of $1,094,520.

1995 Mariah Carey's "Fantasy" becomes just the second single to debut at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 (the first was Michael Jackson's "You Are Not Alone"). It stays at the top spot for eight weeks.

1993 George Harrison and David Crosby play their animated selves on the Season 5 premiere of The Simpsons, "Homer's Barbershop Quartet."

1991 Liza Minnelli receives a star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame at 7000 Hollywood Blvd. Her mother, Judy Garland, has three stars on the famous boulevard.

1989 Neil Young performs "Rockin' In The Free World" on Saturday Night Live.

1988 John Lennon is awarded a posthumous star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1750 Vine St.

1987 Fleetwood Mac open their Shake The Cage Tour in Kansas City, Missouri, but without Lindsey Buckingham, a key contributor to the album they're touring behind, Tango In The Night. Buckingham, who had a falling out with the group the previous month, is replaced by Billy Burnette and Rick Vito. He doesn't return to the group until 1997.

1987 Roy Orbison's comeback picks up speed at a Los Angeles concert filmed for the Cinemax special Roy Orbison and Friends, A Black and White Night. Bruce Springsteen, Tom Waits, Elvis Costello, Jackson Browne, and J.D. Souther all perform at the show, which is fittingly filmed in black and white.

1982 Bruce Springsteen releases Nebraska, an album made up of tunes Bruce recorded on a 4-track tape machine in his home studio.

1978 Exile's "Kiss You All Over" hits #1 on the Hot 100, where it stays for four weeks. The group doesn't place another song higher than #40 ("You Thrill Me"), but returns as a country act in the '80s and score 10 Country chart-toppers.

1977 Mary Ford dies after eight weeks in a diabetic coma in Arcadia, California, at age 53.

1971 Isaac Hayes releases "Theme From Shaft."

1965 Donovan appears on US television for the first time when he shows up on Shindig.

1965 Elvis Presley meets Tom Jones for the first time, on the set of the King's Paradise, Hawaiian Style movie. The two become fast friends.

1964 Robby Takac (bassist/vocalist for The Goo Goo Dolls) is born in Buffalo, New York. Along with lead singer Johnny Rzeznik, he's a mainstay in the group, which remains active long after their '90s hits like "Iris" and "Black Balloon."

1957 The Louis Armstrong album Louis Armstrong Plays King Oliver is recorded at Radio Recorders studio in Hollywood, marking the first stereo album recorded in America.

1955 James Dean is killed in a car accident at age 24. Dean dies around the same time rock and roll comes alive (the #1 song the day he dies: Pat Boone's cover of "Ain't That A Shame" - clearly America is at a crossroads).

1954 Julie Andrews makes her Broadway debut in The Boy Friend.

1947 Marc Bolan (frontman for T. Rex) is born Mark Feld in Stoke Newington, London, England.

1943 R&B singer Marilyn McCoo (of The 5th Dimension) is born in Jersey City, New Jersey.

1942 R&B singer Frankie Lymon is born Franklin Joseph Lymon in Harlem, New York.

1940 Dewey Martin (drummer for Buffalo Springfield) is born Walter Milton Dwayne Midkiff in Chesterville, Ontario, Canada.

1935 Johnny Mathis is born John Royce Mathis in Gilmer, Texas. He is raised in San Francisco.More

1933 Gospel/soul singer Cissy Houston is born Emily Drinkard in Newark, New Jersey. She gives birth to future superstar Whitney Houston in 1963.

29/09/2025

THIS DAY IN MUSIC HISTORY, SEPTEMBER 29TH

2023 U2 kick off their U2:UV Achtung Baby Live residency at The Sphere in Las Vegas, a $2.3 billion orb with a 250-foot wraparound screen. U2 is the first act to perform there, but they do it without drummer Larry Mullen Jr., who is recovering from surgery.

2020 Mac Davis, who wrote the Elvis Presley hits "A Little Less Conversation" and "In The Ghetto," dies at 78.

2020 Helen Reddy, whose hit "I Am Woman" soundtracked the women's rights movement in the '70s, dies at 78.

2013 Ten million tune in to the finale of the TV series Breaking Bad, which ends with "Baby Blue," a 1971 song by Badfinger. The song represents lead character Walter White's love of his creation: blue methamphetamine.

2009 Lynyrd Skynyrd release Gods & Guns, their 13th album.

1997 The Clinton White House awards Don Henley a National Medal of the Humanities for his work on the Walden Woods Project, which was set up to preserve the area in Massachusetts where Henry David Thoreau did his writing.

1990 Nelson (Rick Nelson's twin sons, Gunnar and Matthew) top the Billboard Hot 100 with "(Can't Live Without Your) Love and Affection," becoming the second generation of Nelsons to top the charts. Their grandfather, Ozzie Nelson, may have been the most popular of the bunch as a band leader in the '30s and '40s.

1989 Bruce Springsteen drops in at Matt's Saloon in Prescott, Arizona, and jams with the local act The Mile High Band for about an hour. A few weeks later, Matt's bartender Brenda receives a $100,000 check from Springsteen to help cover her medical bills.

1984"Let's Go Crazy" by Prince and the Revolution hits #1 for the first of two weeks.

1984 The English girl group Bananarama has their US breakthrough when "Cruel Summer" peaks at #9 on the pop chart, thanks to the song's appearance in the summer smash The Karate Kid.

1977 David Bowie sets up a trust fund for Rolan Bolan, the son of the recently deceased Marc Bolan, Bowie's close friend and frontman of glam rock band T. Rex.

1977 In the middle of a tour, James Brown's backup band, the JBs, walk out before a gig in Hallendale, Florida, complaining of being underpaid. Most of the band returns to complete the tour.

1976 Rush release their first live album, the double LP All The World's A Stage.

1976 At his 41st birthday party, a drunk Jerry Lee Lewis attempts to shoot a soda bottle with his .357 Magnum and instead hits his bass player, Norman Owens, twice in the chest. Owens makes a full recovery.

1973 Grand Funk Railroad hit #1 in America with "We're An American Band," a song about their adventures on tour, including encounters with "Sweet Connie" and "four young chiquitas in Omaha."

1968 The Supremes eschew their elegant dresses and go casual to perform "Love Child" on The Ed Sullivan Show. Diana Ross wears a sweatshirt, which is in line with the character in the song.

1967 John Lennon flips on the radio while working on "I Am The Walrus" and hears a BBC broadcast of the Shakespeare play King Lear, which he decides to mix into the song.

1967 Mickey Hart joins Grateful Dead as its new drummer.

1966 Jimi Hendrix meets the final member of the Jimi Hendrix Experience, bassist Noel Redding, when Redding unsuccessfully auditions for Eric Burdon's new Animals lineup at the Birdland club in London.

1963 The Rolling Stones begin their first British tour at the New Victoria Theatre in London. They are the support act on a bill with the Everly Brothers and Bo Diddley.

1962 After a wildly successful six-and-a-half-year run, the musical My Fair Lady closes on Broadway.

1961 The New York Times publishes a glowing review of a Bob Dylan performance, giving the 20-year-old upstart his first press in a major publication.More

1959 Little Anthony & The Imperials record "Shimmy Shimmy Koko Bop" (Anthony is quoted as saying the song is "stupid").

1958 Tommy Edwards' "It's All In The Game" hits #1, where it stays for six weeks.

1956 RCA Victor Co. announces that it has received over 856,327 advance orders for Elvis Presley's next single, "Love Me Tender."

1956 Bob Carlisle of "Butterfly Kisses" fame is born in Santa Ana, California.

1954 The original musical version of A Star Is Born, featuring Judy Garland, opens in Hollywood. The first non-musical version debuted in 1932 as What Price Hollywood?, starring Constance Bennett.

1948 Guitarist Mike Pinera (of Iron Butterfly) is born in Tampa, Florida.

1948 Mark Farner (lead singer/guitarist for Grand Funk) is born in Flint, Michigan.

1947 Dizzy Gillespie makes his Carnegie Hall debut.

1944 Composer Mike Post is born Leland Michael Postil in Berkeley, California. Composed many TV theme songs, including Law & Order, NYPD Blue, The Rockford Files, L.A. Law, Quantum Leap, Magnum, P.I., and Hill Street Blues.

1939 Songwriter Tommy Boyce (Boyce & Hart) is born Sidney Thomas Boyce in Charlottesville, Virginia. Co-wrote the Monkees' "Last Train to Clarksville."

1935 Jerry Lee Lewis is born in Ferriday, Louisiana.

1930 Bing Crosby marries his first wife, Dixie Lee. The couple had 4 sons together before her death in 1952.

1907 Gene Autry, the "singing cowboy," is born Orvon Grover Autry in Tioga, Texas.

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